Switch-stand



SWITCH STAND.

APPLICATION FILED 051:.22. m9.

Patented Nov. 2, 1920.

INVENTOR ATTQRNEY RE. YoL-r'au.

R. E. YOLTON.

SWITCH STAND.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.22,, 1919.

.1 157,758. Patented Nov. 2, 1920.

2 SHEETS -SHEET 2.

INVENTQR R. E. V01. T0.

ATTORNEY UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ROBERT E. YULTOIL IJF EERMINGHAM, ALAEAMA, ASSIG-NOR TS KILBY FROG AND SWITCH COMPANY, A GOBTPOBATIGN OF ALABAMA.

SWITCH-STAND.

racemes.

Application filed December 22.. 1319.

' I /W122 it nary concern:

own that l, Ronnnr E. YoL'roN, a ci xceu oi the United i..tates of America, re- .ing at Birmingham, in the county of JefitlSUii and State of Alabama, have invented we ain new and useful improvements in it itch-Stands, of which the following is a :mecilication. I

' lily invention relates to switch stands for railways, mine tracks, and the like, which characteristic by the simplicity of its construa-tion, the absence of gearing, the automatic positive locking of the stand when thrown in either position without the use of latches, and the requirement of but a single pad lock for locking the stand in either operating position.

sin important feature of my invention relates to the mechanical elements for transmitting reciprocating motion from the pivoted handle to the connecting rod and in this respect my invention is distinguished by the absence of gears, thereby eliminating lest-motion, and by the provision of means adapted to transmit a differential movement pletely thrown positions and avoids the possibility of a split switch. Split switches gent-wally result from a switch handle not being fully thrown, from a reverse pressure from the switch points opening the latter, or from lost-motion due to excessive wear in the stand. By adapting the handle to throw the switch throughout the upper 90 are of its 180 travel, I avoid the probability of the switch being only partly thrown.

i have referred above to the feature of lost-motion in the switch stand as occasioning split switches. This is particularly true in the gear operated stands where the switch handle usually has a single narrow bearing which the strains from the heavily weighted handle tend to wear rapidly, thereby giving the handle angular play in its bearings which frequently disconnects the gear and thus leaves the switch points free to open. It is a distinctive feature of my Specification of Letters Eatent.

Patented Nov. 2, 1920.

Serial No. 346,508.

and it is an object of my'invention to avoid this by using as the transmission element, between the handle and the switch operating crank, a slide which projects at either end beyond its guides and is perforated at each end so that a lock can be applied to the exposed endto prevent the shifting of the member.

A further advantage of my invention is that the crank pin on the handle, utilized to move the shifting transmission element, assumes positions at or slightly beyond dead center when the handle is fully thrown to either side, thus affording. a positive lock to prevent displacement of the switch by any external force applied from the switch points or the connecting rod.

A further object of my invention is to so design and arrange the parts that the labor of assembling is reduced to a minimum, thus permitting the initial installation and the substitution of repair parts to be carried out without expert help and at small cost, it being of importance to note that the repair parts can be installed without removing the stand from the track.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, I have illustrated the present standard embodiments of my invention without however intending to be limited to their detail structure.

Referring to these drawings z- Figure 1 shows a covered switch stand in place with operating connections to the switch points.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the operating mechanism with the cover removed as viewed on the section line 22 of Fig. 3, the handle being thrown to reverse position from that shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal partial sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a detail view of the transmission slide. i

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2. r

Fig. 7 is a detail View of the crank end of the handle.

Figs. 8 and 9. are side and end views, respectively, of a modified form of my 111- vention showing an uncovered 'typeof projects above the bottom (5. ofthe lower the stand.

half of the casing, rocker arm 7 swlngs horizontally on the bottom 6 as a support and has a slide slot 8 in its free end which projects towardrthe handle side of A slide block 9 is adapted to work in the guide 8 and is mounted on a depending pin 10. (see Fig. l)- integral withthe transmission slide 11.- This slide comprises opposite alining guide arms 12 which rest in slots 13 open overhead and formed in the end. walls'l l of the bottomcasing.

. These arms are preferably integral with the central portion of the slide whichis vertically elongated and provided with spaced side flanges 15 forming vertical guides for the slide block 16 mounted on the crank pin 17 ot the'handle 18. The blocks 9 and 16 are alike and interchangeable.

The handle is mounted on a bearing pin 19 which turns in an elongated bearing 20 mounted on a bracket 21 integral with-the adjacent side wall 22 of the lower casing section. The handle has'bearin s on either side of the bearing 20, the outer nearing be ing formed by an extension 23 or" the handle in line therewith and perforated to receive the outer end Qf-the pin 19, while the other handlebearing is formed by a crank 30 carrying an annulardisk and connected to the handle. proper by a lateral web 25 spaced to clear the hearing 20. ,The headed end of the pin 19 is. passed from the inside of the stand outwardly through the disk 24,

7 bearing 20 and handle extension'23, and it struck rrom ing from the top edge of the web 26 on each will be, noted in Fig. 2 that the bearing 20 extends inwardly and slightly beyond the inner surface of the side wall 22 this wall, as seen inlhg. 5, being cut away on a curve the pin as center and extendside to the top edge of wall 22.. The upper casing. section 27 1S parted from the lower sect on substantmlly on the center horizontal plane of thepin l9 and its side wall 28 abutting the side wall 22 cut away on a haltcircle concentric with the pin 19, thus forming with the opening in the wall 22,. an

openingg29 circular except for the interruption'by the web 26. The web 25 for-the handle turns freely through this opening and the disk 24 on the handle has a slightly lriction on the side walls 22 and 28.

The crank pin 17 is mounted on the crank which greater diameter than the opening 29 so that it forms an inside turning closure for the same which is suiiiciently close to exclude dirt and cinders trom the casing without ill) of the handle and has mounted on it the slide block 1.6, as appears more clearly in Fig. 3. The slide arms 12 are set below the top level of the end walls and the end walls of? the top casing section 27 are pro vided with tongues 31 which fit down into the slide notches and close the openings above the slide arms 12 and serve additionallyto interlock the casing sections.

A target 32 is mounted on a mast 33 which turns in a bearing boss 3 on the top of the casing section 2?, the lower end of the mast having a square head 35 adapted to fit detachably into a square socket 36 inthe top ofthe rocker arm 7 with the center ofthe mast in lineywith the vertical axis of the crank 4:. A. boss on the mast engages the underside of the casing top and serves to hold the mast against upward. displacement. The top xcasing. section a-nd the target are thus readily removable without having to disconnect or unbolt any parts except the corner fastening bolts l7 which connect top and bottom casing sections.

The lower casing section is-provided at opposite ends with base extensions 36 which are'suitably notched for the reception of spikes to anchor the stand to the cross ties. Preferably these base extensions areabove the level of the bottom 6 so that the latter *ill. set between the cross ties to better anchor the standin position. Each slide arm of the transmissionslide 11 is provided with a hole 37 so disposed that the hole in each arm will be exposed just beyond the side guide when the handle is moved to shift said arm to its outermost position; Thiswill be clearly seen in Fig. 3 and a pad lock or the equivalent 38 is snapped through the exposed hole 37, thus locking the stand in position in which it is set, as there can be no movement of the switch points when the transmission slide 11 is held. In this connect-ion it is to be noted, by reference to Fig. ,5, that the handle at either end of its throw will bring the crank pin 17 indeed center position with pin 19, thus positively locking the stand automatically -Also by reference to the dotted line in Fig. 3, indicatingthe travel of the crank pin 17 it will be apparent that the crank does practically all or? its throwing work duringthe top 90 are of its travel. As a result there is but little load on the handle as it approaches horizontal position and thus the weight 39 at the free end of the handle will positively drop it to position in which the stand is automatically locked.

In 8 and 9 I showa less expensive and simpler type of stand in which the parts are left uncovered and no target is used. Here the crank 4 is mounted in a recessed isting l0 having base extensions 41, each of which carries a pair of vertical lugs 42 which serve 2 s guides for the arms 12 of the transmission slide 11, the slide being held in place by bolts 43' ronnectii'ig the top ends of each pair of lugs. In this arrangement the bearing 20 for the handle is mounted on a bracket 44 rising from the base casting ll) and the handle has a plain crank arm 45 substituted for the c 'a-nk 30 and disk Qel, as there is no occasion in. this design for the latter. 'The crank pin l7 on the arm 45 carries the slide block i6 which works in the vertical guide in the transmission slide. The pad lock 38 is applied to the outermost hole 37 to lock the slide against the adjacent pair of guide lugs 4,2.

The operation of both types of switch stands is as followes: Having removed the pad lock 38 the handle is grasped and raised, imparting practically no movement to the switch points until it traverses the upper 90 angle of its movement, the final movement of the handle through the last 45 of its throw likewise imparting but slight movement to the switch points. This small duty during the final part of the throw in either direction enables the weight on the handle to positive carry it at all times to fully thrown position wherein. the stand is automatically locked by reason of the crank pin 1'? coming to dead center position opposite the bearing pin 19 for the handle The long bearing 20 and the handle bearings at each end thereof will prevent angular play of the handle, due to wear in the bearings, and there being no gearing in the mechanism there is practically no lost-motion. All wear is practically taken by the slide blocks 16 and S) which being interchangeable will make displacement charges less. It is to be noted that none of the parts are bolted together except top and bottom of the casing and that all parts can be very readily assembled or taken apart. For instance, the top cover 27 can be unbolted and lifted off, thus freeing the transmission slide 11 to be lifted, after which the pin 19 can be withdrawn and the handle detached. The target shaft will lift oil with the top and the rocker arm 8 can then be detached from the crank and lifted out. By reversing the operations, the parts can be assembled and these operations can be performed without disturbing the mounting of the base and without requiring skilled labor. The parts are of such character that they can be made entirely of malleable iron and the castings are of simple character and require a minimum of machine work.

it should be understood that the details of construction can be widely varied without departing from the novel principles underlying my invention, and I desire to claim the same without limitation to the specific structure shown.

lzlaving thus described my invention, what 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is

1. In a switch stand, a pivoted handle having aweight at one end and a crank pin at the other, a slide block on the crank pin, a horizontally reciprocable slide mounted in the stand and having a vertical guide to receive said slide block, a second slide block attached to the slide, and aswitch operating crank having a slide guide for said second block and pivotally mounted to oscillate responsive to the reciprocation of said slide.

2. in a switch stand of the character described, a. weighted handle having a yoke at its pivot end, a single bearing on the stand embraced at each end by the yoke, a crank at one side of the yoke, and mechanism on the stand operated by the crank for shifting the switch point.

3. A switch stand of the character de scribed, comprising a casing having a side opening, a bearing projecting centrally through said opening, a handle journaled'in said bearing and having a flange disposed within the switch stand and adapted throughout the levers travel to close said opening in the casing wall, and mechanism operable by the handle for imparting movement to the switch points.

4. A switch stand comprising a casing hav' an arcuate side opening, a bearing with its center concentric with said opening, ahandle having a yoke end embracing the bearing and pivoted thereto, the yoke being movable through said opening and compris mg a closure plate to maintain the side wall opening closed, and mechanism operable by the handle to shift theswitch point.

5. A switch stand comprising a handle, a reciprocable element operable by the handle, a switch point shifting means movable with the reciprocable element, fixed guides for said element, and a key controlled lock transferable to the projected end of said element and adapted by engagement with said guides to lock the projected end of the slide against retraction.

6. A switch stand comprising a handle, a reciprocable element operable by the handle, a switch point shifting means movable with the reciprocable element, fixed guides for said element, and transferable means coacting with said guides and, locked to either projected end of the slide to hold it against retraction.

7. The combination with a switch stand, of a casing, switch operated mechanism movable therein and comprising an element movable about a fixed vertical axis, a target journaled in and detachable with the casing top, and vertically detachable means for lecking the target with said element for rotation therewith. l

8. In aswitch stand, a casing comprising a detachable t0p,a target journaled'therein and having a squared end projecting into the casing, handle operated means to shift the "switch points comprising a swinging element jenrnaled in the stand and adapted to J he moved abeuta vertical axis and having;

a squared socketto detachably receive the;

squared inner end of the target.

switch stand comprising a casing having a detachable top and opposite slots in the end Wall of its base section, a reciprocableslide movable throughsaid slots as a guide with one or the other end thereof pr0- jecting substantially Without the casing,

'l andle mechanism fer reciprocating the slide, and switch perating mechanism movable by the slide, said slide being vertically detachable frern the casingnnd from the parts eperatiyely ce inected therewith when the top casing section is removed, substantially a described.

1 0 In a switch stand,a handle journaled therete comprising a crank, a reciprocable slide having a vertically elengated guide receiving said crank, guides inwhich the slide re ('-ipr0ca tes, a switch operating crank dispesedheneath the slide, and a slide block under thesl de f r opeliably a d de achably connecting it with said crank. r In testimony whereof I afiix my signature. ROBERT E. VYOLTON.

Vl itness: i

" NOMIE 713mg. 

